Tuesday, February 15, 2011

What is your inquiry today? What is it that you are craving in your heart of hearts to know? To study? What would inform and enlighten your path?

I ask this question as a bit of a nudge to get you thinking about these questions, and also because as a yogini I want to be of service and to know how I can serve you better.

Many of you are far away and can not attend my classes, and may not even have yoga in your area. People contact me all the time asking if they could do some sort of "distance learning" with me on certain topics. So far, learning to meditate and learning pranayama (breathing techniques) seem to head up the list. Stress reduction in the work place has also been requested as a topic.

So, in response to what I see as a clear need, I have begun to develop a series of e-course so that I can teach, help and serve many more people all around our world. I have the first program written, Introduction to Meditation: Part One, and I hope to have the website and several other programs ready to roll in about 3 months.

I would be honored and it would help me so much if you could take a moment to jot down any ideas, requests, etc. you have for classes. Please let me know what you need and how I can serve you better! I am open to all topics and ideas, so please share freely.

Thank you for your time, your support and your continued practice of yoga which keeps our delicate world turning and holds us all in the light.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

In honor of Oprah doing a show today on VEGANISM (woooot!) I am making this recipe for dinner (from one of my favorite magazines – Martha Stewart's Whole Living.) I was showing it to my students in my yoga class at Blissful Body Yoga this morning and they were all excited about it. Maybe you'll be inspired to give it a try too! I plan on putting a little shredded onion in mine as well...ummm...onions. Also, I don't have any nutritional yeast at the minute, so I am skipping that bit.

Are you saying..."What the HELL is a rutabaga?" Read up on them here. They are a delicious, nutritious and versatile root vegetable.

Happy eating and come back to see my follow up post on how my turned out complete with pictures!

"Every Thanksgiving my mom made mashed rutabaga when we were kids, and no one ate it but my mom and me. I've tweaked the recipe a lot: I've made it vegan, and instead of mashing it together with a bunch of butter and bacon fat, as my mom did, I used a nut cream, which makes the rutabagas velvety in and of themselves. It's much healthier, but it still feels really filling and lush."

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup raw cashews

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

2 slices rustic bread, torn into small pieces

2 small rutabagas (1 1/2 lb.), peeled and cut into about 1/8-inch-thick slices

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

4 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Make cashew cream: In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over cashews and let sit until they soften, at least 15 minutes and up to 30. Stir in yeast. Puree mixture in a blender on highest setting until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.

Make breadcrumbs: Pulse bread in a food processor until coarsely ground. Set aside. (You should have 1 cup.)

Assemble gratin: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover bottom of an 8-inch-round baking dish with a single layer of rutabaga slices, overlapping edges and working in a circle. Season with salt, pepper, and some of the chopped herbs. Add another layer and season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Pour in about 1/3 of cashew cream -- enough to cover both layers. Continue until baking dish is full. Pour in remaining cashew cream. Sprinkle nutmeg over top layer. Toss breadcrumbs with oil in a small bowl. Top gratin with breadcrumbs.

Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until rutabagas are tender when pierced with a sharp knife and breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.